Blog Traffic

December 17, 2008

White-collar fraud meets technocorrections for Bernie Madoff

There are already too many notable stories surrounding the Bernie Madoff fraud for me to cover them well, and the MSM is covering a lot of the bases already. But, thanks to WSJ Law Blog post, I see that we have now got a technocorrections angle worth covering:

[T]he terms for Madoff’s bail have tightened up. He may not have been much of a flight risk before, but he sure isn’t going to be one now: A bail hearing scheduled Wednesday for Madoff was canceled after he agreed to terms requested by the government, including home detention in his Manhattan apartment and a curfew of 7 p.m. He will also be required to wear a monitored ankle bracelet. Here’s the government’s press release.

Madoff’s wife, Ruth, will surrender her passport and pledged properties she owns in Manhattan, Montauk, and Palm Beach to help secure the $10 million bond. A federal judge gave Madoff until Wednesday to find a total of four co-signers for his bail package. After his arrest last week, he was released on a personal recognizance bond secured by his apartment in Manhattan, which is worth about $7 million. But as of Wednesday, only two people — Ruth Madoff, and Madoff’s brother, Peter — had signed the bond, meaning they are on the hook financially if Madoff flees. Hence, it seems, the need for the ankle bracelet and curfew measures.

I likely won't blog much about the Madoff case unless/until sentencing approaches. But readers are certainly welcome to use the comments to this post to discuss any aspects of the Madoff matter that is of interest.